What do you do when a last minute catch up with friends is planned in London?
Surprise the girls
Let your friends book the hotel
Drive because of the train strikes
Be completely unplanned and go with the flow!
We hadn’t seen the ‘family’ (as we call them – they are complete unrelated but amazing friends) since much earlier in the year. The girls have been asking multiple times per week if we had organised when we were seeing them next. So when a plan was hatched I suggested we keep it a surprise for them. We kept mentioning a day trip to London and I hid an overnight bag in the car! The grumbled about how long the journey would be, hardly any charge on their tablets, getting car sick because they were watching the tablets, needing the toilet, etc!
We were staying in Docklands and hatched a plan…..as we drove…. to park at Canary Wharf and then take a boat over to the Docklands. Little did we know that the hotel had it’s own little (and even better – free) shuttle boat from Canary Wharf dock over to the hotel and back. We would leave the bag in the car, head into London and pick it up on the way to the boat.
I stayed at Canary Wharf earlier in the year and found that it’s actually a great base for getting into the centre of London – there’s the Jubilee line and the Elizabeth line that get you there easily, and quickly. There’s plenty of places to stay, eat and drink. After parking (£24 for 24 hours and there’s plenty of EV charging including Tesla superchargers) a 10 minute journey on the Jubilee line took us to Waterloo.
At Waterloo we met our friends and the girls were truly surprised (perhaps overwhelmingly so). I was informed that next time Mimi would rather not have a surprise and would have preferred to have been prepared! We picked up some food for a picnic from a local supermarket.
We sat next to the embankment for our picnic. It is great around the South Bank – there are plenty of spots to sit, there is a lovely play park for the children to run around. There was a carousel, food stalls and if you are looking for things to do the London Aquarium and the London Eye are right there to enjoy. We have never had a bad time at the aquarium!
One of the amazing street performers
From here we walked over the Thames and into Leicester Square. Here we happened upon free showings of parts of various operas and ballets on large screens. This had been put on by the Royal Opera House. They were showing shows such as La Traviata, Swan lake and the Nutcracker. There were deckchairs to sit in. It was another great place to stop and enjoy London and the company! We also visited the Lego store – which is most kids’ (and many adults) dream spot! After managing to spend no money here (a miracle) we moved on to Covent Garden.
Covent Garden was buzzing and awash with floral displays and street performers. There was much to see and do. You can wander around the shops, stop and admire the views, be entertained by the different performances and eat and drink with a view. We stopped at Creme de la crepe for crepes and milkshakes. I had a refreshing smoothie and a lemon drop crepe. The girls went all in chocolate! We were there late afternoon and it was not busy so managed to get a table for our large group.
By the time we had finished here there were weary legs and tired faces. Thus we decided to make our way back to the hotel. We went to Tottenham Court Road and took the Elizabeth line back to Canary Wharf. Our first journey on this line and it is a beauty! We walked to Westferry circus to the dock and the ferry took us a couple of minutes to reach the hotel.
We stayed at the DoubleTree by Hilton London – Docklands riverside where we had a room with two doubles (it also had a sofabed for larger parties). Our room overlooked the Thames and Canary Wharf. It had plentiful amounts of toiletries and space. We ordered room service as by this point it was beyond the usual bedtime of most of the children. The food came pretty quickly and was tasty and plentiful.
Breakfast the next morning was busy but the buffet breakfast had something for everyone and plenty of healthy options. The staff were friendly and there was a great family atmosphere across the hotel. We took our time over breakfast – there was colouring in sheets and pencil crayons for the children and a plentiful supply of tea/coffee to chat over for the adults!
We went from the hotel back to Canary Wharf and wandered slowly to the Canada Square shopping centre. Along the walk there were squares for the children to run and play hide n seek. Time flew by and so we decided to grab lunch before we left. There are more than enough options for eating around this area in terms of cuisine, price and atmosphere.
A whirlwind of a trip that was very ‘see where the day takes us’ but that is what I love most about London. You can turn up and find a multitude of things to see and do. You can get around the centre of the city by foot and if you take food and snacks with you it is easy to have a very inexpensive day with the amount of free entertainment on offer. Even if you do have a plan it often goes off course!
We have done this trip as a group of friends, a couple and many times with children of varying ages and, apart from the one episode of poor AirBnB research, we haven’t had a bad experience!
Why go
There is a wealth of things to do and experiences to be had in NYC. It is full of familiar sights and sounds, diverse cuisine and a vast range of museums and activities. Whilst the USA as a whole is not as cheap to travel to as it used to be, and shopping doesn’t have quite the same bargains to be had, it still has the same fun and we were certainly not priced out of the market.
When to go
We are biased because almost all our trips have taken place in Late November/December. This is not to say that it’s the best time to visit but that’s what has worked for us in terms of leave, other holidays and my general love of Christmas. For me, New York is synonymous with Christmas and Home alone! (Though at some point I’d like to be at the top of the Empire State building on Valentine’s day recreating Sleepless in Seattle vibes!)
To go in Winter you need to be prepared for it to be cold and wet. When it’s cold it is really cold -the wind chill is real when you’re down near the waterfront. Again, when it rains it can be really wet. So please ensure you take the right layers. Footwear – consider boots and wellies for the children. We got really wet one time and our trainers were soaked through! However, seeing the snow fall in Central Park and around the Rockefeller tree is magical!
Late Spring and early Autumn are probably the best months to visit as the weather is warmer and the rain minimal. We have visited in May and that was lovely for being outdoors. We visited in July one year and I recall it being hot. The summer months can be hot and humid so perhaps a bit harder to enjoy the outdoors as much.
Whenever you choose to visit there are plenty of indoor and outdoor options for visits so you can get the most out of the city whatever the weather. However, if you want to be out walking everywhere and seeing the sights and views then you probably want dry days, be it cold or warm!
How to get there
We fly from Heathrow as our nearest airport but plenty of UK airports fly directly to New York airports. The widest variety of routes fly into JFK airport. We have flown at different times of the day and with so many flights daily it is easy to find a time that fits around your family’s optimal sleep/nap requirements! Out of all the flights I would suggest one earlier in the day. This leaves you getting into New York in the afternoon which leaves time to get through the airport, to your hotel and have some dinner. Then you can start readjusting bedtime at whatever time you plan for it to be whilst away.
See these other posts on jet lag and flying with children.
Where to stay?
We have tended to use holiday rentals for our stays, or a relative’s spare room so I will speak more from location than particular hotels. We have stayed in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Jersey City.
Brooklyn is a great location. It’s between JFK airport and Manhattan. It doesn’t take long to get into Manhattan (where the majority of the classic sights and experiences of New York are based) and it also has plenty of places to visit and eat a meal. The apartment we found in Brooklyn was spacious, well equipped and within easy distance of the subway into Manhattan. We have also stayed (as a couple) at the Hampton Inn Brooklyn/Downtown and this was a perfect location. The rooms are not large for a standard (but that is fairly typical of New York) but were comfortable with a lovely sitting are and place to get food and drink in the lobby.
Manhattan allows you to have everything right on the doorstep but is likely to cost more in accommodation. If staying in Manhattan do consider the location. This is where we had our AirBnB mishap – the apartment was just above a bar! Jet lag or no jet lag, we weren’t getting the best sleep there! There are many hotels in Manhattan so look at the best deals out there and consider the facilities you might wish to have to help narrow things down. I would advise that you are likely to be out and about a lot so the room itself might not be a priority regarding how spacious it is. However, if you have younger children, that you plan to return to the hotel room for naps with, then a larger room might be a better investment.
Jersey City is our favourite. Not least because it’s where our relatives are based! It is just across the Hudson from Manhattan. So you get great views of the city and it’s only a 15 minute subway trip. Manhattan can also be accessed easily by car or ferry boat from here. There are plenty of accommodation options. It has a smaller town feel – there are some great play parks (Hamilton park in particular is fantastic), Newport Mall and plenty of great restaurants. You can also access the Ellis island ferry from Liberty state park. I have talked about Jersey City further elsewhere as it deserves a post of it’s own!
Eating in New York City
This is city where you can find all types of international cuisine and varying levels of culinary quality! From fast food galore to fine dining, there is something for everyone. I would spend some time looking at the day ahead and thinking about what time you want to eat and where you want to be in the city. From our trips I have found that in the more tourist heavy areas such as around the Rockefeller and Empire state building it’s a little harder to find more local and good value versus quality cuisine. There’s more of a premium on the cost and the venues are far busier. So perhaps consider eating somewhere else along the route that day.
Top tip – If you plan to visit Eataly then go earlier and aim for an early lunch. For example, La Pizza and La Pasta opens at 11.30. You can book ahead or you can get in the queue. But at this time it was easy to get a table. By the time we left the restaurant it was full and Eataly itself had become far busier. Also to note is that there is a Lego store and the Harry potter store within a minutes walk of Eataly downtown.
I personally love to find great Mexican food whilst in the USA as it’s not something I have found as easy to get in the UK. For me, a highlight was Orale in Jersey city. Amazing food! When it says it’s spicy it really is so be careful!
Do note that portion sizes do vary. In Eataly they were just the right size for one meal but in some places the portions are huge and taking away leftovers is a common occurrence so do consider how much food you are ordering and consider taking the leftovers to have as lunch or dinner the next day. This helps with budgets/costs.
We came across a lovely café – Maman (800 Washington Street, 10014) – on our way from the subway to the southern end of The High Line. We had a hot drink and some cake from here but the menu looked great and the food that people was ordering looked tasty!
What to do?
This list could go on forever and it it’s fair to say we haven’t explored everything that the city has to offer! So lets look at some of the things we have enjoed most with the children:
The High Line– This is a great walking path along a disused freight rail line that ran above the city. It has been turned into an amazing above street level park that allows you the opportunity to see New York City form above and let the children run free without the worry of traffic. It is just under a mile and a half long so it’s just the right distance. There is elevator access should you be with a pushchair/stroller. There is seating, art, and many varieties of plants. There are a number of entry and exit points and along the route you can access Chelsea market (a food hall and retail space) and Hudson Yards (shops, eating and The Edge viewing platform) amongst much more.
Central Park – an iconic location and vast expanse of space to explore. From spotting movie locations to the 21 playgrounds dotted around the park, you could spend hours here having fun. Not just that but The Central Park Zoo is also found here and an enojayble way to spend a few hours. From Central Park you can easily walk down 5th avenue and see and visit many of the sights – the American museum of natural history, The museum of modern art, the Rockefellar centre, The Met, Times square, The Empire state building and Grand Central Station amongst many more.
Viewing Platforms
There are a number of different viewing platforms across the city. We have visited four of them. I have listed them with a highlight for each:
The Empire State Building – Iconic and the original viewing deck. Seen in many movies you get a whole experience alongside the view.
Edge NYC – This platform is based at 30 Hudson yards on the west side of Manhattan. It has the highest outdoor viewing deckin in the western hemisphere. The views are simply breathtaking – across Jersey City, the Hudson river and down towards the Statue of Liberty and of the iconic sights of Manhattan. Then there’s the triangular section of glass flooring where you can literally see Manhattan below you!
One World Observatory – For us this gave a wonderful view from the southern end of Manhattan across the iconic NYC skyline. It is the highest point in the city with 360 degree views. It is well located for visiting the Oculus centre and the 9/11 memorial.
SUMMIT One Vanderbilt – We visited this attraction on a rainy day where the views were obscured by low lying clouds. However, the trip itself was not affected by the impaired view. This was a multisensory experience for the whole family. We spent longer here than any other viewing decks and the interactive elements were perfect for entertaining the children (and the adults!) whilst the views could be enjoyed. My only criticism was the plentiful number of instagrammers looking for the perfect shot which sometimes meant you didn’t get that close to the windows.
The mirrored room at SUMMITA rainy day but you get the view!A child’s (and adult’s) play paradise
The Top of the Rock – Based at the Rockefellar centre this is another viewing deck. We haven’t visited this viewing deck but I didn’t want to miss it off the list as it’s one of the other iconic viewing decks.
An iconic view of the Rockefellar Christmas tree
In summary – The best for children who want to be entertained is SUMMIT. The best for a breathtaking experience is Edge. The best for an iconic experience and feeling like you’re in the movies is The Empire State Building. For history and impact then it has to be the One world observation deck.
Museums and galleries are in abundance in New York. I’m going to draw your attention to two particular places that are great for children. Neither are in Manhattan and one isn’s in NYC. However, both are work the trip if you are visiting with children:
Brooklyn childrens museum – We took one of our daughters here when she was was just over a year and a half. She loved it! There was exhibit after exhibit of multi-sensory experiences. Her favourite had to be the World Brooklyn where she spent quite some time working and shopping in the supermarket!
Liberty science centre – Based in Jersey city this is a huge, spend a whole day if you wanted, kind of place. It can be accessed via the PATH train + light rail or via ferry service (with a 20 min walk at the Jersey City end. There is something for all ages and interests here. The infinity climber in the centre of the place is also amazing!
Hopefully after reading this you will feel empowered to take a trip to New York with the children. You could fill 1-2 weeks (or more) of holiday exploring NYC and it’s local area.
We took a trip to Tuscany at the end of August. This trip was not the trip it started out as! We didn’t know where we were going to start with. In fact we had been looking at Spain originally. We were looking for somewhere with reasonable flight costs. In the end we found great priced flights to Milan. We were travelling with our friends who are a family of seven. So were started looking for accommodation around Lake Como or Lake Garda. We just couldn’t find anything that was still available that suited what we were looking for. We then stumbled on an amazing villa in Barga, Tuscany.
If I was going to book this again I would travel to Pisa which is far closer. However, the drive was around 4 hours and it was not the worst! There is a lot of pretty scenery and we stopped in Pontremoli on our way down to Barga. This was a lovely town where we picked up lunch and took some time to stroll through the town. There were lots of little shops, market stalls and bars, and our first taste of Gelato!
Another note is that our flight into Milan Malpensa airport arrived at night. So we stayed at the airport hotel overnight and picked up the hire car the following morning. We stayed at the Sheraton airport hotel which was very convenient and comfortable. It is directly accessible from the airport so if you have a very late or early flight it is convenient. We wouldn’t have been able to pick up the hire car and drive all the way to Barga that night without risking having two very grumpy children for the next couple of days! In addition, it has some great facilities such as a gym, indoor pool and plenty of dining options. If you were flying in from further afield this would be a really nice place to just rest for a night and day before your onward travel.
Now on to the best part of this trip – the wonderful accommodation. We stayed at Tuscan Skye in Barga. This a 5 bedroom villa which is everything you would imagine of an Italian home. The rooms were impressive, spacious and comfortable. The kitchen was well equipped and there was an amazing pool area with loungers, chairs and an outdoor eating area. There was table tennis. The children (all seven of them) were in holiday heaven. Mairi, who hosts Tuscan Skye, is amazing. She left treats, brought up pancakes one morning, offered babysitting should we wish and really cared about making the experience perfect for us. It was a perfect base to explore the surrounding area.
A bedroom at Tuscan Skye villaThe kitchen at Tuscan Skye villaMairi’s homemade bruschetta!Mairi’s fudge!
Barga itself is a beautiful town nestled in the province of Lucca. Apparently many Scottish Italians can trace their ancestors back to the town! It is small and can be explored within a day, but it made a good base to visit some other cities. In addition, we had some lovely meals in Barga that were good value and child friendly.
Where did we visit?
Pisa – We arrived here around 11am and made our first stop the world famous leaning tower of Pisa. As you would expect – there were crowds of people bustling around to take pictures of themselves holding it up – as did we! We spent around half an hour around here before hiring two quadricycles to take ourselves on a self-guided tour. This was great fun and the children had the best time sat on the front of the bikes, particularly as we caught up with, and took over, the other bike! We hired the bikes for an hour and this was enough time to enjoy the adventure, the sights and for the children to not get bored (or our legs tired).
We then sat and ate lunch outdoors along one of the streets. There are many options for eating in Pisa and plenty of great value options. We found that the price we paid for meals was pretty consistent everywhere we went. We were not on a trip looking for gourmet food on this occasion but I can’t say that we ate anything that didn’t taste good! The girls were in food heaven – Pizza and pasta is their ideal meals so we couldn’t go wrong! Pasta or pizza and a cold glass of Italian white wine went down a treat in the heat of the Italian summer.
After lunch we took a horse and carriage tour where we had a more sedate tour of Pisa with the benefit of some additional information about the city. From this we topped up with ice-cream and headed home. We spent around 4 hours in Pisa which gave us enough to explore without having hot and tired children on our hands. It meant that we reached home in time for them to enjoy playing in the pool and a home cooked dinner.
Florence – another day trip taken. Florence was beautiful – everything you imagine when thinking of a traditional Italian city. We parked up and then walked towards the river. We walked along the river to Ponte Vecchio. Again, it was a busy city full of tourists but it didn’t take away from the experience of seeing a city that is steeped in history and amazing architecture. We essentially took ourselves on a walking tour of the sights of the city, landing on a restaurant and bar on the edge of Piazza della Signoria where we had views of the Palazzo Vecchio whilst enjoying a drink and light snack.
We wandered along the shopping streets and bought some amazing chocolate from Venchi Gelato and Chocolate at Piazza Del Mercato Nuovo. We then arrived at the Piazza Del Duomo with Florence’s cathedral. A sight to behold – the gothic architecture of the cathedral is ornate and a masterpiece. You can climb to the top of the dome for 360 degree views of Florence or you can visit the interior of the cathedral for free. Bear in mind there are long queues to enter.
We then visited the Magnum pleasure store where the children got to create their own magnums with toppings of their choice. It’s definitely over-priced but if you have kids like ours who love a Magnum it was an ideal sweetener for them to continue exploring. As was the Lego store!
We rounded up our day with an early dinner at Il Bottegoni which was on one of the corners of the Piazza Del Duomo. The food was good and very well-priced for the location.
Livorno – This was about an hour and a half from Barga. It is a port city and thus there was an amazing market full of fresh fish. We stopped here and enjoyed some of the produce on sale and then took a walk around the town. I think when we happened to visit it was a quiet period and a number of restaurants appeared to be close. We found Osteria Dagli Amici which squeezed us in to their outdoor seating area. From here we drove north of the town to the beach around Spiaggia La Siesta. This wasn’t a planned stop and we were completely unprepared with no bathing suits! However it was so amazing that it didn’t stop the girls from stripping to their underwear to splash in the sea and Neil having to chase them in wearing his shorts! On reflection we could have spent a whole day here and had a wonderful time. If we had a do over of the trip then this would definitely be on the agenda!
Lucca – We chose to do this as an evening trip – heading out with the first plan being dinner. It was busy and a challenge to find a spot to eat for all 11 of us. But we found a table at a restaurant on the corner of Piazza Napoleone – Caffe Silvia. We then walked along the bustling streets to Piazza San Michele where there was live music in the square and the children danced as the sun set. From here there was only one thing missing – Gelato! We sat and ate ice-cream and then as we continued to walk we found another square with a large stage with locals dancing in formation and a carousel which we enjoyed. We drove home after this. Our friends went on to a fairground from here (as unfair as it seemed on the girls a good sleep was what was needed for them with our flight home the following evening).
It was an amazing trip where I think we managed to strike a good balance of getting out and seeing the nearby places, without being so hectic that the girls were exhausted. I think if the girls were a little older we could revisit this trip and enjoy more of the museums and indoor exhibits. It has also shown what we could get out of a weekend trip to some fo the cities visited. Though our accommodation was out of the way and a ‘one road in and out’ it was a beautiful setting and perfect for our group size. The host made it even more perfect with the added touches mentioned earlier.
New York City is a place that we love and revisit again and again! We have family nearby giving us the excuse. But really you need no excuse to visit this vibrant and full of things to do city.
We took a three-night trip to Disneyland Paris at the end of March. We took the Eurostar from St Pancras and changed at Gare Du Nord in Paris. The train station at Disneyland drops you right outside the entrances to the parks and next to the Disney village. As we were taking the train we…
We visited Paris at the end of March. At this time the weather was pretty variable. The temperature itself wasn’t cold but there was a cold breeze at times and some occasional rain. The decision of Paris was made by our 8 year old who was keen to go on the Eurostar and see the…
We took a trip to Tuscany at the end of August. This trip was not the trip it started out as! We didn’t know where we were going to start with. In fact we had been looking at Spain originally. We were looking for somewhere with reasonable flight costs. In the end we found great…
